The invention relates to a combined carrier and transport unit for use in connection with germination of seed tapes and a later bedding out of said seed tapes by means of a planting machine, said combined carrier and transport unit being open at the top and comprising a perforated bottom wall.
Combined carrier and transport units have been known for a long time in connection with machines for bedding out plants, possibly small trees, where each plant is positioned in a small container and where the combined carrier and transport unit then comprises a plurality of such juxtaposed containers. The bedding out usually involves the use of a very high number of combined carrier and transport units, and after said combined carrier and transport units have been emptied they can indeed be piled atop one another, but not inside one another, viz. being nested. Accordingly, these combined carrier and transport units are encumbered with the disadvantageous draw-back of taking up a very large volume.
The object of the invention is to provide a combined carrier and transport unit of the above type which is very light and which in addition in the piled empty state requires very little room.
The combined carrier and transport unit according to the invention is characterised in that it is made of sheet material and is of a substantially U-shaped cross section, where the bottom web of the U forms the bottom wall of the unit, and where the two side webs of the U form side supporting walls for the seed tape which can be zigzag folded and placed edgewise on said bottom wall, and that connecting members are provided in the transition area between the bottom wall and each side supporting wall, said connecting members being adapted to be folded in such a manner that said side supporting walls and said bottom wall are positioned on the same level when the unit is not in use, and that when the unit is in use tight side supporting tapes are provided between opposing ends of said side supporting walls so as to additionally support the seed tape from the side. The resulting combined carrier and transport unit is very light due to the high number of holes. In addition, it has much room for a zigzag folded seed tape. In particular it should be noted that when the unit has been emptied and is not in use, it requires very little room because in this state the unit can be completely flattened as the side supporting walls can be folded outwards and downwards so as to flush with the the bottom wall. Several units piled atop one another take up minimum room. When the carrier and transport unit is to be used again, the side supporting walls are bent upwards so as to form an angle of approximately 90xc2x0 with the the bottom wall and the side supporting band is put tightly about the entire unit, said band abutting said side supporting walls. The seed tape is positioned edgewise and zigzag folded on the the bottom wall. After the germination, the seed tape can be bedded out by the unit being arranged on a planting machine known per se, whereafter said seed tape can be gradually pulled off said unit. In addition the carrier and transport unit is environmentally friendly because the user is not tempted to throw away the unit in the open after use.
The sheet material may according to the invention be a thin sheet of aluminium or soft steel, preferably of a thickness of 0.60 to 0.70 mm. As a result the said side supporting walls can typically tolerate a bending up and downwards approximately eight times before they break off, and accordingly the carrier and transport unit is provided with a reasonable durability.
Moreover, a plurality of holes may be punched out in the bottom wall so as to form a grating, whereby the connecting members may be relatively narrow bridge pieces resulting from a punching out of a plurality of narrow oblong holes at short regular intervals in said transition area. As a result the connecting members are particularly easy to handle with the effect that the side supporting walls can tolerate a higher number of up and downward bendings than previously.
The connecting members may according to the invention be formed by hinges, such as pivot hinges, between the side supporting walls of the walls and the bottom wall as well as reinforcing angle braces arranged at at least one end of each side wall. As a result the carrier and transport unit is particularly durable because it can be reused a high number of times.
Furthermore, the sheet material used may according to the invention be made of plastics, preferably polyethylene, whereby the connecting members of the transition area can easily be formed by thin metal wire nets embedded in said plastics and preferably made of thin wires, or merely by separate thin metal wires arranged in parallel. The resulting carrier and transport unit is inexpensive to manufacture at the same time as it is very strong.
Moreover, the plastics used may according to the invention be expanded plastics, preferably a laminate of polypropylene and polyethylene, which turned out to be particularly advantageous.
According to the invention the connecting members may be formed by film hinges, whereby the carrier and transport unit is particularly simple.
The side supporting band may according to the invention be a band preferably made of plastics and for instance provided with an adhesive on one side, said side supporting band being wound tightly about the unit and adhering to the side supporting members by the adhesive portions opposite said side supporting members. As a result the carrier and transport unit is particularly easy to handle during the bedding out because then it is only necessary to break the band in order to pull out the seed tape sideways from the unit, said seed tape sliding across the bottom wall.
The bottom web of the U may according to the invention present a slightly concave curvature towards the interior of the U, whereby the bottom wall of the carrier and transport unit does not xe2x80x9csackxe2x80x9d during the load of the seed tape, but be substantially planar.
In addition, the side supporting walls may according to the invention at one or both ends be extended a distance beyond the the bottom wall, and the extended portion may be bent inwards towards one of the centre lines of said the bottom wall. As a result a kind of xe2x80x9copeningxe2x80x9d can be formed on the carrier and transport unit, and the germinated seed tape can be pulled out of said opening when the bedding out is to be carried out.
According to the invention the bottom wall may be zigzag folded when seen in cross section, whereby each fold of the zigzag shape can be less than 0.2 times the height of the side supporting walls. In this manner the common contact area between the seed tape placed edgewise and the bottom wall of the carrier and transport unit is rather small with the result that the pulling out of said seed tape from the carrier and transport unit has been facilitated during the bedding out.
Moreover, the side supporting walls may according to the invention be of a height substantially corresponding to the width of the seed tape, and preferably a few mm higher than the width of said tape. Such a height of the side supporting walls turned out to be particularly advantageous.
According to the invention the side supporting walls may be equally high and preferably of a height less than 7 cm, whereas the bottom wall may be of a width of 30 to 50 cm, preferably 40 cm, and a length of 70 to 90 cm, preferably 80 cm. The resulting carrier and transport unit is of such a size that it can be placed on most types of pallets.
According to the invention the adhesive tape is advantageously of a width of 1.5 to 2.5 cm, preferably 2 cm.
Moreover it is according to the invention possible that the side supporting walls comprise at least one recess or at least one hole to be used by the moving or positioning of the unit.
In addition, the sheet material may according to the invention be metal sheet coated with plastics, preferably polyethylene, whereby especially the bottom wall of the carrier and transport unit is particularly smooth with the effect that the germinated seed tape is particularly easy to pull out of the unit.
According to the invention the sheet material may exclusively be made of a polypropylene with the result that the side supporting walls tolerate a bending up and downwards a very high number of times.
The invention relates also to a rack for storing a plurality of carrier and transport units according to the invention, and this rack is characterised in that it comprises four substantially vertical posts interconnected by means of two interspaced frames, and that a plurality of holes arranged atop one another are provided on the inner side of said posts, and that a releasable, possibly pivotal carrier is provided opposite each hole, said carrier for instance being in form of a pivot displaceable through each hole and capable of sliding into or below a carrier and transport unit when the latter is positioned in the rack where said carrier and transport unit forms a shelf in said rack. As a result a very reliable storing of the carrier and transport units is obtained as well as of the associated seed tapes during the germination of the seeds in said seed tapes.
Finally, the posts of the rack may according to the invention comprise wheels with the result that the carrier and transport units in said rack can easily be moved around in a greenhouse for the germination, in which the seed tape is to be subjected to a germination.